My mobile phone is like a Caramac that’s been at the bottom of my schoolbag all week. It’ll still fulfil its basic purpose, but it’s not quite the right shape anymore and no one would thank you if you gave them it for nothing.
It switched itself off while I was talking to a customer today which really pissed me off as the conversation was straightening out the details which would bring a cheque that little bit closer.
The difficulty is that I have no enthusiasm for getting a new one, it’s on the same interest level as a toaster or a kettle. Nah, less in fact, toast and tea is better than phoning.
I had a quick look this afternoon and it’s all lifestyle enhancing multifunctional handheld devices on the shop displays, no phones. Oh dear.
I’m still working off the Bontempi laptop, and enjoying the more basic horizons, if merely tolerating the smaller screen.
Every new step I take with a piece of technology seems to be a strip of masking tape over the window, if I keep upgrading, adding apps, finding uses I didn’t know about without the thing I’m using and didn’t need anyway, then soon the light will be slipping in through the few cracks left between the strips of masking tape and I won’t want to look out any more. Just down at whatever plastic oblong is in my hand.
So, a simple phone. Yes, I’ll take basic internet, and I think I want a decent camera again, but that’s it. I don’t want to have to sit and try to delete all the games and shite off the next one only to find that I can’t.
I’m a 41 year old heating engineer, and I hate all your bollocks.
Don’t know about over the pond, but Motorola (“Barrage”), Casio (“G’zOne Boulder”)et al have reasonably simple and pretty water & bulletproof phones. Or you could just get cheapos and keep tossing them.
Your metaphor about tape over the window is dead-on, though; It’s Steve Jobs’ dream to have that happen.
I know the feeling here, my phone is at that stage where the battery indicator seems to be more of an aspirational thing rather than actual. It replaced an iphone which lasted around a month before exploding into a thousand pieces of glass in an exciting demonstration of why I should never buy things made of glass.
Then I saw this Noiia 3720…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxRwEtIOumE
… on expansys.co.uk for 120 quid, waterproof, run-over-proof, massive battery and it has a torch. Time to splash out before all the kayaking trips this Summer I think.
The ski guides I worked with this year all used these:
http://www.jcbphone.co.uk/
Pretty basic but tough enough for work and mountains.
I think you’ll like the colour too ;-)
Nokia 2000 series – £20, battery last forever, I’ve dropped it off numerous ladders and even in paint. It still works. Comes unlocked if you buy the O2 one. Not much of a camera but I’d reached the decision that in the building trade a phone that works is better than one that looks good, does everything but is nothing but an irritant.
Nokia give a two year warrenty direct with them as well…
Oh yeh – and seeing as I bought the phone myself, I now have a contract that’s 800min and 1000texts for just £20 a month and no damned 18month contract.
Nice to know I’m not entirely alone!
I like the links :o)
try the sony ericson range mate, the k800i and onwards are simple and have a good camera plus basic web browsing. had one for years until i got the iphone, which is great apart from the camera and iffy battery use when using heavily.
LOL at you with this. You sound just like Steve. As you can imagine I do like my gadgets but do value something that does the job I want it to well. I’m a fan of Sony Ericsson phones especially for their cameras. My contract is up for renewal this month so eyeing up the new X10. For once this may be an area where I can advise you ;-)
Aye guys, I’ve had a couple of Sony Ericsson’s, I think that’ll be the way I might go.
I have Holly all day today, we might go and have another look…
Just waiting to aquire a Nokia N96 off a mate who’s work are getting him an iphone. Not really fussed but for nowt can’t turn it down really. Its got sat nav for free and i could also buy the OS maps for it and have a GPS too. The iphone is great though, but got 2 ipods so am happy with them.
Aye, I like my iPod on its own as well. It’s wee and the battery goes on for ages.
I freecycled a couple of old mobiles a few months ago – a flip-phone of unmemorable make and a really antique Nokia 3310. A builder responded immediately, begging for the 3310. Large, very basic, heavy. He was desperate for it cos it would take vast amounts of abuse with impunity. One happy builder :-)
Unrelated, but the episode of The IT Crowd with the builder was on last night. It does make me chuckle that programme.
Old phones were less fragile, that’s for sure.
You have my sympathies ptc. Technology eh, it’ll never catch on… ;-)
I have now looked at a page of phones on the O2 site.
My head hurt instantly.